Forgotten Memories
by Sunny-For-Life
Summary: Oz gets into an accident, causing a case of amnesia. Elliot doesn't react well to the news. Will Oz ever get his memories back? Oneshot. ElliOz fluff.


The crash and tinkle of the breaking cup seemed to linger on for hours, rather than the seconds it took to fall apart. The tea spread quickly, staining the carpet, spreading in all directions, almost like a flower, reaching its petals out as far as it can go.  
It was the first time Elliot every remembered dropping something. He'd always been good with his hands. A child had to be, when growing up in a mansion full of glass and other fragile objects.

Elliot just kept staring at the broken cup, Reo's words circling around his brain, repeating it over and over. Bad accident… Concussion... Been in a coma for a week…  
Suddenly he was being shaken, rocked back and forth by a hand on his shoulder. He blinked, the slow motion of the world coming back to real time, as he focused his eyes on Reo's face.

"Elliot? Your face is pale. Perhaps you should sit down." He actually had a hint of worry in his voice. It almost seemed funny to Elliot, Reo always kept his cool.  
Elliot's mouth felt dry, and he felt his voice crack before he regained composure, letting out a soft "No…"

Then anger seemed to consume him, suddenly and violently. He shoved Reo's hand off of him. "Why didn't you tell me before?! A week and you're telling me now?"

"Calm down, Elliot."

"Shut up!" He stormed across the room, grabbing his coat, turning to find the door blocked by Reo. His voice came out sharp, "Move."

"Look… Elliot… You can't go over there like this. You have to calm down first. I haven't finished telling you everything."

Elliot grabbed Reo by the collar, moving him to the side in one jerk. He could hear a choking sound come from his servant, and he loosened his grip a bit, a part of him knowing he shouldn't take it out on Reo, but he was just too angry.

"I couldn't tell you before! I knew you'd react like this! Elliot, just sit down and think it through!" Reo pleaded, grabbing Elliot's arm but unable to keep a hold of him.  
Elliot continued down the hallway without saying a thing, just itching to have an excuse to draw his sword on something.

Reo made one last attempt at stopping Elliot by shouting down the hallway, trying to knock some sense into him, "Elliot! He'll be okay! Oz just needs to rest! You can't go over there!"

Elliot ignored him, the mention of Oz's name giving him more energy. He'd go over there and shake the idiot awake if that's what he needed.

"…I just have to see him for myself." He said softly, looking back at Reo.

Reo sighed, giving up. "Alright… It's going to take me forever to get that tea up off the carpet."

Elliot smiled a bit, leaving the mansion to see the idiot.

* * *

An intense pressure…  
Voices… People talking…  
And the world was spinning.  
Spinning  
And spinning  
And spinning…

The voices died down, until just one was talking, "…should be better in a bit… chances of memory loss… Lots… Rest…"

The words came through broken up, like the speaker was missing every other word. He didn't recognize the voice, it was monotone and bored him.

And the headache.

That hurt the most. It kept distracting him from the voice. He'd give anything to relieve the pain. He wanted to groan, but what came out of his mouth was a light sight. He didn't have the strength to make any noises.

Then there was banging and shouting, things moving. A shushing noise. Then-

The spinning was back.  
He changed his mind, that was worse than the headache.

Finally he found the strength to let out a groan, silencing the room in an instant.  
He cracked an eye open, but shut it immediately at the blinding light.

"Oz?" A girl's voice.

More shuffling in the room and suddenly there was a louder voice, sending vibrations through his head.

"Wake up, shorty! You've been sleeping enough!" That voice… Sounded so familiar… For some reason he was happy to be called by that nickname when it was that voice… But he couldn't remember why.

Finally he opened his eyes completely, taking in the room slowly.  
There were four people in the room, with a few others standing outside the door. A girl in a dress with dark hair, a tall man with a worried expression, another man with a white coat, and the one closest to him, the one who'd shouted at him, seemed to be glaring at him, with a scowl on his face.

"Tch… Do I always need to be around to knock sense into you?" The boy with the scowl snapped, crossing his arms.

"That depends… Do I need sense knocked into me often?"

"Don't be smart!"

The room… was spinning again. "Don't… yell…"

The tall man chastised the angry guy, "Don't be so loud, Elliot. Are you alright, Oz?"

Oz blinked, looking confused. "Is… that my name?"

The doctor clucked his tongue, "Ah, I figured this might happen. He's lost his memory. The only thing that can fix that is time." He collected his stuff, putting it in a briefcase. "His swelling has gone down, there's nothing else I can do. He'll have to recover his memory on his own."

"Huh? But, wait a second!" The worried man followed the doctor out the door, leaving Oz with the girl and the angry guy.

Oz sat up slowly, steadying himself when the world felt like it was spinning again.  
"Oz!" The girl ran to the other side of the bed, "Are you hungry? I can get you food. You can even have some of my meat!"

"Oh… Uh… Sure…" Oz smiled at the girl, watching her scurry out the door. The people at the doorway had disappeared as well. He glanced sideways at the guy still scowling down at him. He didn't feel exactly afraid or nervous to be around him, but for some reason every time he looked at him he felt his stomach flutter. It was a strange feeling.

"So, you don't remember my name?" Oz blinked again, frowning, trying to recall memories he may have of him, then shook his head.

The guy sighed, losing the angry expression and sticking out his hand towards Oz. "Elliot Nightray."

Oz stared at the hand for a bit, before processing that he was supposed to shake it. He did so, smiling at him. Elliot… He really liked the way that sounded. Hearing the name made his stomach do another little flip. Maybe he was just nauseous again?

"Uh… I guess I'm Oz?" Oz offered a sheepish smile at how little he knew.

Another sigh from Elliot. Oz frowned. He didn't like how he kept disappointing him, making him sigh.

"Yes. You're Oz Bezarius." Elliot looked around, perhaps searching for someone, before shutting the door and pulling a chair up beside him. "Until your servant gets back to catch you up on things, I suppose I'll have to do it."

Oz wasn't really listening as Elliot started telling him things about his life. Instead, he chose to watch the way Elliot talked, how his eyes were incredibly focused the whole time, with an intensity that excited him and made him nervous at the same time, how he got angry at the first indication that it seemed like Oz wasn't listening, his eyebrow twitching with irritation. It all amused Oz to no end and he couldn't get enough of it. He did his best to nod when it sounded appropriate without letting on to Elliot that he wasn't listening again, but he always caught him. Always. And every time he went on about what an idiot he was and how he was doing Oz a favor and should repay him for the good deed. He couldn't help but smile at how easy it was for this guy to show his every emotion, his facility to express himself. That's when Oz decided to interrupt him as he was explaining the four dukedoms.

"Are we friends?"

The Nightray stopped mid-sentence, with his mouth slightly open. "…Friends?"

Elliot seemed to be thinking about it, frowning, focusing his thoughts on it. This made Oz nervous. Suddenly, he didn't really want to know the answer. "N-nevermind. That was a silly question…" He looked down at the blanket covering him, playing with the corners. "…Sorry for interrupting you."

"We're not-"

Oz made a loud yawn, drowning out Elliot's voice. "I'm so tired… Thank you Elliot, but I think I'd like to sleep some more."

The Nightray looked like he was going to protest, but was interrupted by the door opening and the man with the worried expression coming in, along with the girl who offered to bring him meat. Both of them filled his line of vision, blocking out Elliot from Oz's view. They were both talking at once, seeming to not realize that Oz couldn't hear what either were saying. But he did hear the door slam shut, along with brisk footsteps going down the hall. Whatever Elliot was to Oz, he'd chosen to leave.

Oz smiled and laughed at the two people talking to him, trying to comfort their worried thoughts about them, but couldn't help but feel sad at the departure of the guy named Elliot Nightray.

* * *

"Gilbert says he's doing a lot better now," Reo broke the silence that had been going on for hours, with both of them reading.

"…Great." Elliot muttered.

"You really should go visit him, you know. It could help him remember you." Reo shut his book, the sound louder than it should've been thanks to the echo in the room.  
Elliot didn't reply, flipping a page.

"Really, Elliot, he could use your support."

"What's the point? They said he'll probably never recover his memory." He muttered.

"…Do you really think his feelings for you would just disappear because he's forgotten you?"

Elliot slammed his book down on the table, standing up and glaring at Reo furiously. "Of course they have! He knows nothing about me, how could he still… Tch… I can't see him like he is… He just sees me as a stranger."

"They say love is a powerful thing, Elliot."

Elliot opened his mouth, ready to yell at Reo for such a ridiculous thing to say, how he didn't love Oz, it was a stupid accusation, but Reo held up a hand to interrupt him. "Really. I think if you just spent time with him, everything would come back to him."  
Another silence. Elliot was trying to decide between yelling at Reo until his voice went hoarse or throwing something at him. But finally he decided against both, choosing to say softly, "It was funny… That day I went to see him it brought me back to that day in Sablier, when he visited the orphanage. I remember him shouting "I just want to be friends with you!" and how much it shocked me." Elliot paused, collecting his thoughts. "I didn't think he'd ever be able to shock me again, but he always finds a way. Just like two weeks ago…"

Elliot smiled a bit at Oz interrupting him, asking in a rush if they were friends, with a light blush on his cheeks. Even with his lost memories, Oz still behaved the same way he did. Still cute…

Reo was smirking at Elliot. "What?" Elliot snapped.

"You're thinking about him, aren't you?" Reo asked teasingly. Then he turned completely serious. "Now's the time to go, don't you think?"

"…Yeah. I'll see you later, Reo," Elliot said, hurrying out the door.

Reo sighed, straightening up the room. "If anyone can bring Oz back… It's you, Elliot,"

* * *

Elliot seemed to have a habit of slamming open doors and yelling as a way of announcing his arrival. And today was no exception. Had he always been like this, back when Oz knew him?

"Alright, Oz, we're going on a walk," Elliot demanded, grabbing his sleeve and pulling him out the door.

"W-what?" Oz was baffled. No one else had ever treated him like this since waking up. Everyone had treated him like he was something fragile that might break if they spoke too loudly, and everything was brought to him. No one left his side. And yet this guy, Elliot, had come storming in without a second thought of his previous injury, pulling him out to who knows where. Instead of the anger that everyone else in the room seemed to have at the act, Oz was elated, excited. He'd go anywhere with Elliot if he asked him to.  
Gilbert had reached out to stop Elliot, but Oz reassured him that it'd be okay, they'd only be out for a bit, and wouldn't go far. Gil let them go without too much of a fuss.  
Oz followed Elliot down a path silently. Elliot had released his sleeve, but for some reason was holding his… his hand now. It confused him, sending those butterflies through his stomach again. Were he and Elliot friends before? Or… something else…?

Elliot suddenly stopped, in the middle of a clearing with a bench. He looked over at Oz, sitting down on the bench and motioning for Oz to do the same. Oz obeyed, looking out at the trees in wonder, surprised at the beauty of the place.

He noticed Elliot was watching him, and he blushed, looking away. "So… um… Why are we here?"

"We came here all the time." Elliot stated. "We… We would meet up here and just talk… You talked a lot."

"Oh…" Oz was at a loss for words though. He had no idea what to say, what they used to talk about, what their relationship even was. Suddenly he was frustrated at the lack of information that he had. "Okay, Elliot, tell me! Were we friends or not?"

Elliot chuckled at his reaction. "Heh… You're still the brat I remember…"

"Don't change the subject!" Oz glared up at Elliot. "Tell me now!"

"…No. We weren't friends."

Oz's confidence faltered. "But… what were we then? If we weren't friends then… Why did we even meet up here, why did we…"

Elliot stopped Oz's babbling by putting his hand over Oz's. "We wanted to be lovers."

"L-" Oz's face was beet red. "Y-you and m-me?"

"I think you were coming to visit me when your carriage crashed, because no one knew where you were going at the time, not even the driver." Elliot smiled a bit. "It was my birthday so… I guess you were trying to surprise me." Then he was smirking. "Way to screw it up."

"Oi! It's not my fault the horse got spooked by a snake!" Oz defended himself. He could see it clearly, the horses panicking, the carriage and the tree, his head hurt so much then, right before he blacked out. Elliot's face had shown up, with the whisper of a promise, to meet him the day after his birthday. He remembered apologizing aloud to Elliot, that he wouldn't be able to see him in the clearing for a while.

Wait…

"Nngh…" Oz clutched his head, trying to take in the memories as they flooded his consciousness. He could remember everything now. "We… we wanted…"

Icy clarity ran through him, and he looked up into Elliot's blue eyes. "Elliot…" He reached up, wrapping his arms around Elliot's neck and pulling him close, kissing him softly. He could feel Elliot's warm arms, pulling him even closer, making him feel so safe secure. Elliot always brought a sense of peace and happiness to Oz, he could remember this now. And his lips… they were still so firm and yet soft. He moaned lightly, noticing just how much he'd been missing this.

"I could tell… that something was missing. When I woke up, and I had all these people around me, I still felt so alone." Oz whispered. "You were missing from me, Elliot."

Elliot's arms tightened around Oz. "That won't happen again, Oz. I was just… I was so scared that you wouldn't feel the same anymore. I couldn't bear to see you had forgotten me. It was stupid of me… Reo made me see that."

"Yeah, really stupid." Oz teased. "Who wouldn't fall for a bad-tempered guy like you?"

"Tch… You're the brat who keeps causing me trouble." Elliot muttered.

"…Worth it though, right Elliot?" Oz leaned back to look at him.

Elliot smirked, "I suppose so."

"Hmph," Oz stood up, crossing his arms. "In that case I'll just go find another guy."

Oz heard laughter behind him as he turned to leave, and felt Elliot's strong arms pull him back, onto his lap. "I guess I'll put up with you. That's what a lover does, right?"

"…Even if I forget you again?" Oz hated the worry in his voice. How afraid he was Elliot would just leave him. But all those doubts disappeared as Elliot said softly,

"I will love you, Oz. No matter what you become. Always."

"…I love you too." Oz turned around to face Elliot. "Grumpy Elliot."

Oz laughed as Elliot groaned at his nickname, enjoying the moment of paradise with him. It could disappear so quickly, so instantly. He'd make the most of every moment they had left together.

Maybe… Just maybe… They could have an always together.


End file.
